What's on

Northern Publishers’ Fair

Performance Space

Drop in, chat about books, buy way too many, and find your new favourite people at our annual Northern Publishers' Fair, organised by Fly on the Wall Press! Publishers so far: Bluemoose Books, TTA Press, Stairwell Books, Manchester University Press, UCLAN Publishing, Confingo Publishing, Fly on the Wall Press, Comma Press, Crocus Books (CommonWord), Flapjack […]

Devolved Vision: Granada TV and the Future of British TV

Performance Space

Granada TV has a very significant place in British television history and still holds a powerful place in the cultural memory of northerners. Once described as the ‘greatest television company in the world’, it was founded by Sidney Bernstein in 1954 and began broadcasting to the North in May 1956, when independent television was born. […]

Living Library: Domestic Violence

Every year, over two million people in the UK experience domestic abuse. None of them should have to wait until they’re in crisis before we pay attention. We need to see the whole person, the whole family and the whole society if we are to truly see the whole picture. Alongside Allie Crewe’s powerful exhibition, I Am, […]

Confucius Institute Talk: The portrayal of gay characters in Chinese cinema

Performance Space

This talk will introduce the audience to the changing representations of gay characters in films from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The films that will be explored include, but are not limited to, East Palace, West Palace (Zhang Yuan, 1996), Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai, 1997), and The River (Tsai Ming-liang, 1997). About the speaker: […]

North West Mixtape

Performance Space

Join us for this closing event 'North West Mixtape' in which selections of archive audio from the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project are celebrated. We've spent the last three years digitising, cataloguing and clearing the rights for over 4000 recordings from archives across the North West region. This event pairs an audio-visual showreel of key […]

Word Central

Performance Space

WORD CENTRAL RETURNS TUESDAY 31 MAY 2022 James Hartnell is a poet, newspaper columnist and writer who has been published globally. He is presently editor of Current Accounts, the international magazine of Bank Street Writers, and is a regular contributor to Worktown Words, the writing arm of Live from Worktown, a major community project in […]

Shadow Girl

Shadow Girl is a new adventure story about a girl called Sabrina, who has a vivid imagination. It is a playful and adventurous show about friendship, growing up and discovering what it means to be brave. Sabrina is growing up fast, but her parents haven’t noticed yet. Feeling invisible and alone, Sabrina hastily forms a […]

Sunday Funday: A Royal Celebration

Performance Space

Enjoy a free, fun packed afternoon with lots to do for all the family as we come together to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. There wil be Jubilee themed art and craft family workshops with artists Caroline Coates and Simone Frater-Russell throughout the afternoon. Family film screening starting at 1pm, plus popcorn! Free face painting […]

Every Picture Tells a Story

Archives+ Ground Floor

Heritage Schools (part of Heritage England), Archives+ and artist Lorraine Rudyard, have created an exhibition working with 12 year-5 classes from Manchester schools. The schools have created figures for scenes to go in front of local listed buildings. The children learned about the history of Central Library and then visited the venue to create their […]

Manchester Histories Festival 2022

Performance Space

Manchester Histories Festival are delighted to be returning to Manchester Central Library. Throughout the festival, the library will play host to a series of events featuring talks from environmental activists and academics, as well as performances from theatre groups and a talk from Manchester Histories Patron, David Adetayo Olusoga OBE. To view all the events […]

For those who are to come

Wolfson Reading Room

For those who are to come presents the diverse faces and colours of Amazonia. The exhibition was first shown at COP26 and is now in Manchester for the first time as part of the festival. Curated by Eduardo Carvalho and Vanessa Gabriel–Robinson the exhibition presents photographs from three influential photographers that show the different Amazonias […]

The Wicked Problem from Ergon Theatre

Performance Space

What would you put first, the planet or your family? Set in the year 2061, the audience act as jury for the trial of an individual who has broken a climate law created by the new authoritarian green government, Ergon. The jury will hear from witnesses across the globe and Greater Manchester before deciding whether […]